The Airplane Ride (Part 5 - The final installment)

It was finally time for us to go home.  For those of you that read my post on FB, we were able to get our return flights for $8.99 per person.  With taxes and fees it was under $150 and we had a $60 credit on Allegiant from last summer.  The kids were excited for their first airplane trip.  (Ema flew with me to TX when she was 18 months, but that doesn't count because she doesn't remember it)

Now, for those of you that have never flown Allegiant let me tell you a few things.

1. It costs $12 per person to "choose" your seat. 

2. It is $15 per bag to check if you tell them in advance ($35 at the gate)

3. You can pay another $12 and get "priority boarding" to get on the airplane first. 

So, even though they sell WAY cheap flights, there are a LOT of ways that your ticket can get expensive.  WE decided not to do any of the above.

We figured:

1. Someone would take pity on the parents with young kids and give up their seats if we were far away from each other.

2. We just packed carry-ons 

3. Priority boarding was a rip-off.  We'd just get in line early.

We flew out of the Stockton, CA airport:

Here are the kids right after we checked in:

This is the terminal.  The entire airport. I know.  It's big.  

We could have got lost had we not stayed together *wink*:

About the time we were supposed to board the plane, an announcement was made.  

Our flight had not left Las Vegas yet. 

Seriously?! 

So we found a seat and waited:

And waited . . . 

And we waited some more once they FINALLY let us go through security:

We waited so long I let Justin take a picture of me (I only do that when my guard's down and I'm tired):

A little while AFTER our flight was supposed to land in Las Vegas, they announced that the plane was ready to board.  They also announced that our flight was extremely full and they were looking for volunteers to CHECK THEIR BAGS.  *my husband jumped right up and volunteered us - We just saved $70*.  In return, they would give us PRIORITY BOARDING.  ha ha -We just saved another $48. 

So, we started our walk out to the airplane:

And when we finally found our seats we were shocked.  They were TOGETHER.  On the side of the airplane with only two seats, they had given us two in front of the others.  I couldn't have planned it more perfectly if I would have picked them myself  - woo hoo! We saved an ANOTHER $48 

I couldn't wait to see how the kids would react to the ride.  As I figured, they LOVED it.  Neither one of them was scared and Bracken kept saying things like, "I can see the wing", "It's like a roller coaster ride in the air" and "That was amazing".  He was impressed.  As we were flying he started talking about Iron Man and his jet-pack.  I think the flight made him want to be a super-hero even more!

We landed in Vegas and I made the kids hold hands because the airport is quite a bit larger:

Our bags ended up coming off the airplane first.  

Which was a good thing because it was midnight before we got to Vegas:

The day was packed with excitement for these kids.  They crashed hard once we got in the car.  (It could have also been because it was 1am):

I want to thank Lynette for coming from St. George and waiting for HOURS in the Vegas airport for us.  What a trooper!

We had such a great time in California!  

Thanks Grandma!

Thanks Tim, Teresa and Alex

We love you!

P.S. Our total saved through our airport experience was over $160!